The Fire Keeps Burning
by TymeChive46
Summary: *ALLEIGIANT SPOILERS* Tris can't wait to follow her mother to whatever comes next. But when something feels off. Will she be able to leave everything, and everyone behind? One-shot. Written by Chive


**A/N: All rights go to Veronica Roth. The first section of each story is a direct quote from one of her books, and I claim no owner ship over them. **

* * *

"_I slide to the floor. I feel something warm on my neck, and under my cheek, and under my cheek. Red. Blood is a strange color. Dark._

_From the corner of my eye, I see David slumped over in his chair._

_And my _mother _walking out from behind him._

_She is dressed in the same clothes as last time I saw her, Abnegation grey, stained with blood, with bare arms to show her tattoo. There are still bullet holes in her shirt; through them I can see her wounded skin, red but no longer bleeding, like she's frozen in time. Her dull blond hair is tied back in a knot, but a few loose strands frame her face in gold._

_She kneels next to me and touches a cool hand to my cheek._

"_Hello, Beatrice," she says, and she smiles._

"_Am I done yet?" I say, and I'm not sure if I actually say it or if I just think it and she hears it._

"_Yes," she says, her eyes bright with tears. "My dear child, you've done so well."_

"_What about the others?" I choke on a sob as the image of Tobias comes to mind, of how dark and how still his eyes were, how strong and warm his hand was, when we first stood face-to-face. "Tobias, Caleb, my friends?"_

"_They'll take care of each other," she says. "That's what people do." _

_I smile and close my eyes._

_I feel a thread tugging me again, but this time I know that it isn't some sinister force dragging me toward death._

_This time I know it's my mother's hand, drawing me into her arms._

_And I go gladly into her embrace.** \- Veronica Roth, Allegiant**_

* * *

I stay in her embrace, feeling comforted by the familiarity of her arms. Eventually she stands up. She seems so graceful, like she's weightless. The pressures of the world taken off her by death. She grabs my hand to pull me up, and I'm surprised by the lightness in me.

"Come on Tris, lets go home."

Tris. I never told my mom my new name. Perhaps what they said is true, she really was watching out for me. Unless…

I hadn't realised the pressure in me until it was gone. All the guilt, all the loss, all the pain. Gone. Replaced by happiness and joy and a longing to go home.

Home. It's a beautiful thought. I can't remember the last time I really felt at home anywhere. I've spent so much time running, moving from place to place, and before that I always felt at odds in Abnegation.

But now I can't. I'm suddenly aware. The lack of pain isn't because I'm dead. It's because I was never shot. I haven't broken out of the serum. Maybe, I shouldn't

I loved this fantasy so much, my heart aches from the realisation it's false. Maybe if I just gave into the serum it could be. I could stay with mom, and she could take me with her to whatever comes next.

I told Tobias I don't want to leave him, and I don't. But I also don't want to leave my mother either. I want desperately to talk to my dad again. Maybe if I went, I could apologize to Will. I could be reconciled with Lynn and Marlene.

I don't even know if dying will reunite me with my family. I don't know what will happen once I give in fully to the serum. I don't know if heaven is real or if God is really out there. I want it to be real, but you can't always get what you want.

But I know this world is real, and that if I fight, if I stay I will be with Tobias and Christina. I know I can't leave Caleb with yet more guilt.

I pull my hand out of hers.

"Since when did you call me Tris?"

* * *

**A/N:**

**I can't figure out if Tris's mom ever calls her that or if Tris ever tells her, but I'm just going to say she didn't because I think even if she did know she would still call her by her full name.**

**I'm sorry the majority of this is a direct quote, but I wanted to make sure we all were on the same page of what was going on. **

**There's so much I'd like to say about the ending to Allegiant, but I don't want to spam those of you that don't care. If you wish to talk to me about the ending and share your opinion on it, please PM me. I love talking to other fans, and I don't bite. **

**And like every author I'm going to end this begging for reviews. They really are greatly appreciated and really make my day.**

**Thanks for reading -Chive**


End file.
